Chapter 683
Episode 174: Veil’s Misconception (3)

Jin, Valeria, and Hedo were left utterly speechless for a moment.

That madman, once a member of the old Rune Kandel’s Tenteen Knights, stubbornly insisted on recognizing Sandra as Sarah.

“Hehe! At first, I thought Jin was just some monster to beat up, but turns out he’s a good guy, huh?”

Sandra completely ignored Veil’s refusal to acknowledge her true identity.

From her perspective, since Veil wasn’t attacking Jin and was even helping him, nothing else really mattered.

“…Miss, are you alright?”

“Yeah, as you can see, I’m perfectly fine. My hands and feet, all bruised and scraped from hitting that guy, have fully recovered. Wow, he’s really tough. When I was beating on Hedo, my fists and feet didn’t hurt this much.”

Hedo couldn’t hide the troubled expression of a middle-aged man facing a crisis.

Because of a trivial curiosity, he almost lost his sword and put Sandra in danger.

On top of that, the fact that he secretly contacted the Balmel Alliance during his leave had been reported to their family.

If the monster who had awakened beneath the sea hadn’t suddenly shown such extreme kindness to Sandra, he would have just flailed helplessly and lost everything.

Though he hadn’t actually lost anything yet, Hedo was feeling a rare sense of defeat.

“Miss, you need to give one more order to the Author.”

“What order?”

“Tell him not to attack the family, the Balmel Alliance, or Kinzello. Judging by his behavior, he seems to accept your orders unconditionally for now.”

“Oh, that’s necessary. Hey! Attack only the Sword Garden! Wait, they’re already destroying everything?”

At those words, Hedo calmly adjusted his broken glasses and pulled out a cigarette from his pocket.

Even before Veil moved directly, many of Ziphl’s ships had already been shot down by the Red Beam of the Graveyard Giant.

[Sara, what did you say?]

“Only attack Rune Kandel’s forces coming out of the Sword Garden!”

[I’ll try my best!]

“…At this rate, we won’t have much to say when we return to the family. It’s all my fault, Miss.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“I mean I put you in danger. When we return to the family, both you and I will face intense investigations.”

“That’s not the first time, is it?”

“This time it’s different. The circumstances make it look like you and I secretly colluded with the Balmel Alliance, causing losses to the family’s forces. I’m an important asset, so it’s not a big problem for me, but you will definitely lose your freedom. You’ll become a hostage to prevent my betrayal.”

“That guy Veil seems like he’d fight the whole family if he touched me. Hedo would too.”

“That doesn’t mean much. First, we don’t know when the Author will realize you’re not Sarah Rune Kandel, and with the Chaos God openly growing in power, it would be problematic for me and the family to oppose him.”

“Then can’t we just run around until my father calms down?”

“Miss.”

“Why?”

“For now… it’s better to think about that after this situation ends.”

Jin’s eyes widened.

Hedo’s words implied he might betray Ziphl.

Jin didn’t add anything. Whatever choice he made, she was determined to help as much as she could.

Someone who helped find Rune Kandel’s old legacy was in trouble. Naturally, Jin had to take responsibility.

“Phew, I can’t believe I forgot about that madman until now. History manipulation is truly terrifying.”

Quikantel spoke as she descended from the chaos in the sky down to the seabed.

Fortunately, Veil didn’t attack her.

But that wasn’t out of loyalty to Rune Kandel or old memories—it was simply because Quikantel was a familiar face.

“Quikantel.”

As Quikantel transformed into human form, her comrades naturally gathered nearby. Jin silently breathed a sigh of relief seeing they were all unharmed.

“Jin, as you can see, that guy isn’t human—he’s a divine being.”

“Watching him fight, it doesn’t seem like he got stronger through training.”

“Right. Veil was strong from the start… but he couldn’t control that power and caused huge problems all over the world. Countless humans died by his hand. Back then, Rune Kandel considered him a target for extermination, not recruitment.”

“How did someone like that become a Tenteen Knight?”

“Because of Sarah. I don’t remember the exact details, but Veil swore loyalty to Sarah, not Rune Kandel. Temar appointed him as a Tenteen Knight to make him atone for his past deeds.”

“Certainly… if only he could be controlled, he’d be an incredible asset.”

Jin looked up at Veil.

His fighting style was definitely different from a human’s.

He could fight in the air with his two wings, and the power radiating from his sword and body wasn’t aura or magic—it was divine authority.

The blue thunder energy that once colored the sky was already being replaced by Veil’s golden divine power.

In sheer strength, he was close to a celestial being. The depth wasn’t quite there, but he wasn’t a shallow weapon either.

Every flap of his wings stirred storms, and golden lightning struck along the sword’s trajectory.

The beams from his eyes made the Graveyard Giant look insignificant, and the sea churned with every move he made.

It felt like an enraged god was fighting directly.

Some chaos dragons even exploded just from Veil clenching his hand in midair—without even touching them.

“The problem is, because he couldn’t control it, he was sealed here.”

“Because of Lady Sarah’s death?”

“Exactly. Until Sarah died, he had a self-imposed seal. Without her command, he couldn’t use any power. With the seal, he looked like an ordinary human. The moment Sarah died, the seal was lifted.”

That meant, unless the seal was reapplied, Veil was a ticking time bomb ready to explode.

The real Sarah was dead, and the moment he realized that, he could go berserk.

“…And he was expelled from the Tenteen Knights. He rampaged daily, destroying the world.”

“What should we do about Lord Veil? It’s best to check the records through Aria before deciding. Just his awakening is bringing back memories we’d forgotten. Hopefully, the conclusion will be to keep him alive.”

If he could become an ally, it would be a tremendous relief.

More importantly, except for his perception of Sarah, Veil seemed to have almost no memory loss, so he could play a key role in tracing the past.

[Paddler! You couldn’t stop Sarah from ending up like that, nor could you stop yourself from falling apart. Don’t you feel miserable?]

[Shut up, Veil.]

[Every time Sarah defended your cowardly self, I felt sick to my stomach.]

[Back then, I forgot all those who called themselves my comrades. But you, I remember clearly the moment I saw you. When Temar destroyed my kingdom… you stood right beside him.]

[Come to think of it, you didn’t protect your kingdom either, not just Sarah and me. I always regretted not showing you the collapse of Idal firsthand. Now you’re clinging to Rune Kandel, living a pitiful life, abandoned even by Sarah.]

[That’s an interesting story. There’s a woman named Sarah down there. Unlike me, you’ll get to witness her death.]

[Your high-and-mighty mouth finally reveals your true nature. Go ahead, I wish you luck.]

They exchanged hateful words and clashing swords.

Once, they had fought side by side as Tenteen Knights. Jin had never seen such a scene before, but somehow, a bitter feeling welled up inside her.

Their hatred for each other was probably because of Sarah’s death.

Sarah’s death likely stemmed from Rune Kandel’s defeat.

If she lost in this life, the Balmel Alliance and her comrades might end up like them—ghosts consumed by mutual hatred.

Thinking that, Jin changed her mind about Veil, who had said they’d decide his fate after checking the records.

“I will make him an ally no matter what. If he can’t be a true comrade, I’ll at least make him a controllable weapon.”

Not just Veil, but if possible, she thought she’d do the same for Elona and Ziphl, sealed by Thalaris.

Krrrkkk!

A sharp streak of blue thunder struck Veil’s forehead.

Veil blocked it with his wings and laughed mockingly.

[You really think you can kill me with that kind of power? Your lackeys are more annoying.]

Stam and Lionel were being deflected by Veil’s sword.

Veil was strong, but Paddler, Stam, and Lionel were fighting at a noticeably lower level than when they faced Jin in the Sword Garden.

Because the battle wasn’t on solid ground. The three were constantly unstable, fighting atop the sea surface, chaos dragons, and black ships, while Veil completely dominated the air.

The fight had barely started, but Veil already seemed to have a clear upper hand.

Paddler’s group knew exactly why they were at a disadvantage.

But the reason they couldn’t recklessly drag Veil into the seabed where they could fight properly was simple.

Jin was standing down there.

Moreover, considering the comrades beside him—especially Hedo, who was no easy opponent—it seemed better to fight in the air, even if at a disadvantage.

[Today is a special day, Paddler. The moment Sarah is completely freed from you…]

Soon, Veil plunged into the sea and grabbed Paddler’s neck just as he surged upward.

Paddler’s eyes snapped open in fury, and Veil smiled, thinking this was finally the end for him. But that smile quickly faded.

“What? You’re trying to run?”

Paddler’s form began to blur little by little.

Jin and the others assumed it was the Prophet reclaiming his soul.

But the one summoning Paddler back to the Garden of Swords wasn’t her—it was Rosa Runcandel.

Through Paddler’s eyes, Rosa gazed down into the depths of the ocean, a smile playing on her lips.